Washington
Before Congress left town for the election recess, a groundswell of grassroots support in the HME industry paid dividends. More than 100 cosponsors have added their names to H.R. 4491, a bill that would repeal the 2005 DME reimbursement cuts mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act.
Washington insiders say increasing support for the bill, drafted by Reps. David Hobson, R-Ohio, and Harold Ford, D-Tenn., should get the attention of congressional leadership. Congress is expected to reconvene for a lame-duck session in mid-November.
According to MMA, CMS is to base the scheduled reimbursement cuts on two reports from the HHS Office of Inspector General that detail DME median pricing from Federal Employee Health Benefits Plans (FEHBP). Affected equipment includes beds and air mattresses, power and manual wheelchairs, diabetic test strips and lancets, nebulizers and oxygen.
